Govt transfers multimillion dollars projects to line ministries

ISLAMABAD: Government approved transferring of some multimillion dollars’ projects to line ministries at the centre and provincial levels from the economic affairs division as devolution of tourism, education, health, environment and social protection administrations completed in the aftermath of 18th amendment into the constitution, sources said on Monday.

The sources, while referring to the recently-approved summary by the federal cabinet met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan, said certain devolved subjects and execution were excluded from the function of the economic affairs division (EAD) and handed over to the line ministries.

“After establishment of line ministries, the cabinet division moved fresh summary before the federal cabinet for transferring of functions from EAD to line ministries related to devolved projects,” an official confirmed with The News.

“We extended full support to this proposal forwarded by the cabinet division,” the official said. The EAD focuses on accelerating the process of speedy disbursements of foreign-funded loan projects and grants during the remaining period of the current fiscal year.

An implementation committee was formed for smooth transition of the entire process when certain subjects were devolved from the centre to provinces through the 18th constitutional amendments during the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government in 2010.

The rules of business for running the government were also changed for undertaking transitional process without facing any major hurdle.

The EAD was empowered to discharge certain functions on behalf of certain line ministries, but now the provinces and the center established all required line ministries and therefore the power was again handed over to the line ministries with the approval of the federal cabinet.

Under the rules of business, the cabinet division initially transferred functions of certain devolved subjects to the EAD for transitional period as the division was looking after signing of foreign funded projects as well as execution of the projects on behalf of the line ministries and at the federal levels.

Sources said the project financing on external front dropped 36 percent during the first four months of the current fiscal year of 2017/18. The EAD will have to gear up efforts to streamline choked dollar inflows in months ahead otherwise the country’s difficulties on external front might worsen in the near future, they added.

The dollar inflows got choked mainly because of suspension of program loans from the multilateral creditors especially from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank after depletion of foreign currency reserves that fell to the levels sufficient to meet only two months of import requirements.

Secondly, the project inflows slowed down in the first six months since May since the Election Commission of Pakistan slapped ban on approval to the projects during the period of political transition.

No meetings of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) or Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) were convened during the period, resulting into choking of the whole pipeline of dollar inflows during the current fiscal year.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government, after taking reins of power, took some time to give Minister for Planning Khusro Bakhtyar as an additional charge of Deputy Chairman Planning Commission.

Finally, all was done and now the CDWP and ECNEC started holding meetings with the expectations that all stuck foreign funded projects would get approval on immediate basis to restore fund inflows for the projects in months ahead.